OUR TEAM
We have a shared passion for the True, the Good, and the Beautiful…
PRINCIPALS
Raul Fonz Fontanares
President & Client Experience Officer
Fonz was Manager for Customer Relations of Philippine Airlines for decades. His travels around the United States for many years had given him the momentum to promote his serious desire for a genuine Catholic Sacred Arts & Architecture. Ars Fidei is founded with the sacramental appreciation of the liturgy, of the sacred arts & space, hopeful to build churches that nurture the human spirit with beauty & meaning.
Manuel de Luna
Chief Design Officer
Manny is responsible for the full continuum of the concept design processes of Ars Fidei. Over the years of his various experiences, he had since grown in full appreciation of the rich, complex and deep meaning of liturgical and architectural symbols that seek to convey theological and liturgical ideas through the artful use of materials. His designs are proponents of renaissance and baroque influences which had since been deliberately dispensed with in the wake of Modern movement in architecture and with the liturgical arts experimentation of this century.
Edwin Enriquez
Regional Account Executive - West Coast
Edwin liaises with our Production Team in all touchpoints of our operations to ensure compliance of the specifications and requirements set by our client churches. For over 19 years, he had worked as Building Consultant involved in the supervision of installation of structural, electrical and plumbing plans that also included implementation of fire & safety standards. His corporate experience in contract and client negotiations have given Edwin the interpersonal communication skills needed in dealing with our unique clientele. He is committed in our shared vision of realizing the unity of Beauty & Truth reflected in all our projects.
Santos Militar, Jr.
Regional Account Executive - East Coast
Ars Fidei's presence in the U.S. East Coast is ably represented by Sonny. Backed with years of marketing research and emersed in varied local community settings, he is a firm advocate in the promotion of genuine sacred arts and architecture adhering to the Roman Catholic traditions.
PRODUCTION TEAM
Glendo Galenzoga Mendiola Sr.
Director of Production
Mr. Mendiola is a graduate of Bachelor of Arts, Major in Philosophy at the Sacred Heart Seminary, Palo, Leyte in 1982. He further pursued his theological studies at the Seminario Mayor de San Carlos, Mabolo, Cebu City from 1982 - 1984. He had ventured into the industry of stained glasses, retablos and other construction works for many years now. His serious interest and committed passion in Architectural Theology is gleaned from his many engagements of major transformation of sanctuaries all over the Philippines from "secular places to sacred spaces.
Roderick "Iwag" Palattao
Visual Arts Director
Iwag, as Roderick is fondly called, has humble beginnings in his hometown in Tirona, Tarlac in the Philippines. Born on February 20, 1967, Iwag's deep religious faith and love for God & family had inspired him to devote mainly painting saints and religious icons. He was commissioned by the late Rev. Fr. Alex Bautista to do the paintings in the retablo of the Parokya of San Josemaria Escriva in Tarlac. Iwag's paintings reflect his passion for holiness in beauty while striving to live his faith seeking the beauty of holiness.
Anna Asuncion
Lighting Design Director
After graduating BS Architecture from the University of Santo Tomas and getting licensed as an Architect in the Philippines, Anna took a few units in Master of Tropical Landscape Architecture but ended up pursuing Architectural Lighting Design. She has 7 years of experience in the industry working on numerous hospitality, commercial, institutional and residential projects in the Philippines, Dubai, London and Ho Chi Minh. One of her works has been recognized and awarded with the Retail Lighting Design of the Year Award during the Light Middle East in 2018. She has also won in Lighting Design competitions with a team she worked with.
LITURGICAL CONSULTANTS
Fr. Carlos L. Belmonte
Fr. Belmonte holds a Doctorate degree in Engineering at the University of Bilbao, Spain and a PhD in Theology in the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. He had extensive work experience in the construction & renovation of chapels & oratories in Spain and the Philippines since 1971 where he also pioneered in the production of gilded surface with gold leaf. Fr. Belmonte's academic and professional expertise had truly revealed a better understanding of the nature of church design. He is also author of books of spirituality and theology: Faith Seeking Understanding, Understanding the Mass (Scepter), Patience, Do You Want to be Great? Humility, among others.
Rev. Fr. Antonio Elizer B. Bermejo
Fr. Jun Bermejo holds a Licentiate degree in Systematic Theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome (1987) and a Doctorate in Liturgy, Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm, Pontifical Institute of Liturgy in Rome (1999). He was a Professor in Liturgy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross from 1990 - 2008. Fr. Bermejo was invited as one of the distinguished speakers at the Liturgical Architecture Conference held last June 2018, with resource persons from Italy, Spain & the Philippines. Seeing Liturgy and the Arts as vehicles through which God communicates His Love to mankind, Fr. Bermejo shares Ars Fidei's mission, goals & projects.
Fr. Alfred Cruz
Fr. Cruz is a Bachelor's degree graduate of Architecture from the University of the Philippines in Manila, Philippines. As an architect, he had worked in Asian Architects for two years with a focus on the Sacred Arts. Fr. Cruz also holds a Bachelor's degree in Theology at the University of Navarre, Spain, and a Masteral & Doctorate degree in Philosophy from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, Italy. Thoroughly trained in both Architecture and Fine Arts, Fr. Cruz has an impressive command of the Church's liturgical tradition and a detailed awareness of how sacred space determines the nature of worship.
